Posted on 12/18/2007 10:27:35 AM PST by NormsRevenge
TRENTON, N.J. - The New Jersey Public Defender's Office said Tuesday it won't challenge Gov. Jon S. Corzine's decision to commute the death sentences of eight men now that the state's death penalty has been abolished.
The office had questioned whether Corzine had authority to do that because the penalty of life imprisonment without chance of parole didn't exist when the men committed their crimes. But spokesman Tom Rosenthal said legal research has shown that the governor does have the authority.
Corzine commuted the sentences Monday as he signed a law making New Jersey the first to abolish the death penalty in more than 40 years. Relatives of those killed by the eight had worried that if the commutations were overturned, it could open the door to at least some eventually getting released on parole.
Rosenthal said federal case law related to the 2003 decision by then-Illinois Gov. George Ryan to commute death sentences of all 167 inmates on that state's death row to life in prison indicated governors have authority to do so and Corzine's move would be upheld.
"We wouldn't prevail, so we won't be pursuing that," said Rosenthal, whose office represents the eight men. He said that means the men who sat on death row will spend the rest of their lives in prison.
Even without a court challenge, the action could still have political effects.
Marilyn Flax, whose husband was abducted and murdered in 1989, vowed to work against Corzine and the lawmakers who voted last week to abolish the death penalty.
"I will make sure my voice is used and they are not re-elected," she said.
John Martini Sr., the man who killed Flax's husband, is among the eight men whose sentences were commuted.
Another of the eight is Jesse Timmendequas, the sex offender who murdered 7-year-old Megan Kanka in 1994. The case inspired Megan's Law, which requires law enforcement agencies to notify the public about convicted sex offenders living in their communities.
Megan's father, Richard Kanka, is still hopeful the men won't see old age. "The only thing we can really hope for is somebody in jail will knock off these guys," he said.
The New Jersey Constitution gives the governor authority to "grant pardons and reprieves in all cases other than impeachment and treason."
New Jersey reinstated the death penalty in 1982 — six years after the U.S. Supreme Court allowed states to resume executions — but hasn't executed anyone since 1963.
Corzine said he was moved by passionate views on both sides, but believes eliminating capital punishment "best captures our state's highest values and reflects our best efforts to search for true justice."
A recent Quinnipiac University poll showed New Jersey voters supported keeping the death penalty by 53 percent to 39 percent. The telephone poll of 1,085 voters was conducted from Dec. 5-9 and had a sampling error margin of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
The bill passed the legislature largely along party lines, with controlling Democrats supporting the abolition and Republicans opposed. Republicans unsuccessfully sought to retain the death penalty for those who murder law enforcement officials, terrorists and those who rape and murder children.
The nation's last execution was Sept. 25 in Texas. Since then, executions have been delayed pending a U.S. Supreme Court decision on whether execution by lethal injection violates the constitutional ban on cruel and unusual punishment.
Interesting.
Down here we had two guys who had their heads burst into flames, but didn’t die with the first jolt.
Thats why we have lethal injection and Old Sparky was retired.
When rich white people murder, kidnap and rape people with any kind of regularity, your opposition to the death penalty will seem less absurd.
Mwaaahaaaa-ha-ha! The will of the sane and rational people has been defeated again!
Not too long ago here, they gassed a guy and he kept breathing normally. That was pretty gross as well. The problem with the electric chair is that it *must* have the proper voltage and current.
The only case I’ve heard of where a properly run chair didn’t work was Albert Fish, the cannibal, who for years had been inserting needles under his skin and leaving them there. He actually shorted the chair out.
All the New Jersey legislature and Don Corizone did here is to decide that some other "lifer", or white collar criminal in the same prison, or a guard, should be killed rather than the murderer.
The victim's families should not be the only ones outraged ~ the families of their future victims should be sufficiently outraged to threaten mayhem on any member of the legislature who voted for this abomination.
I sure would if one of New Jersey's killers were to murder one of my loved ones.
No member of the NJ legislature should ever again sleep soundly at night thinking he or she is safe ~ none of them are and never will be.
Your opposition to the death penalty turns out to be misdirected ~ these pukes all end up killing someone else in prsion ~ you didn't stop an execution, you just changed the name of the person to be executed.
All in a night's work for you folks isn't it ~ to support executing the innocent at the hands of heimous murderers just so long as you don't know the victim and have never heard of him.
Would be interesting to see the statistics which underly your notion of a “tremendous chance of being murdered...” Your leap in logic in the second paragraph is stunning, the same as one might find on the Daily Kos.
If you commit a crime where capital punishment is an option, but you are white and rich, your probability of execution is about zero. I should have been clear in my original post that I was not referring to white-collar criminals (who, curiously enough, can even be non-whiite, but that’s another conversation.)
If you are non-white or not rich, your probability rises exponentially. Of course the people who’ve been wrongly convicted and then released is trivial. (The previous sentence is sarcasm.)
Not entirely certain who the “you folks” are to which you refer in your last paragraph. Who are they and how did I become one of them? Do we meet often and pay membership dues?
While I cannot possibly know all the stereotypes you ascribe to others, let me say (1) I served more than two decades on active duty, (2) vote Republican, and (3) own several firearms.
About the only folks who ever challenge what he said on the matter of "life with no parole" vs. "death penalty" are Liberls, virtually none of whom have ever bothered to check any of the statistics concerning recidivism on the part of those who commit heinous murders.
So, as it turns out, you've never bothered to examine the information. About time you did. I figure Dr. Dean is a fairly good source on this one ~ he had to "make choices" as Governor.
Well...if you believe Governor Dean on just about anything, then I have a bridge you might be interested in.
I'm sorry for you in your belief that those guys are not "special".
I’m all for abolishing lethal injection in Texas as long as it is replaced with the options of death by firing squad, hanging by the neck until dead or gas chamber.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.